A main circuit board in known typical electronic devices is generally provided with different card-edge connectors in order receive various modular electronic cards. The electrical contacts on front edges of the cards can electrically contact with corresponding conductive terminals on the card-edge connectors to achieve electrically conduction between the electrical cards and the main circuit board. Therefore, the card-edge connector not only includes a coupling having a plurality of conductive terminals, but also includes a locking member for retaining the electronic card.
In order to satisfy customers' demand for well-functionalized electronic devices, electronic devices are equipped with more and more functions, and thus need to be capable of operating two cards. Therefore, a need exists in the art for a stacked card-edge connector for mounting two electronic cards in a stacked manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,035 has disclosed a stacked connector assembly having an upper insulative housing and a lower insulative housing, which are formed integrally with each other. As the integrally formed housing is larger, it becomes curved during the injection molding process, thus flatness of the surface is not well controlled and the ability to weld to the printed circuit board cannot be controlled easily, as well. Consequently, the welding of the card-edge connector to the printed circuit board will be affected. Moreover, the upper and lower insulative housings of a conventional connector assembly are provided with locking openings, so as to be secured to the printed circuit board in order to maintain a stable electrical connection between the connector and the printed circuit board, thereby the connector that is welded to the printed circuit board through the pins of a plurality of conductive terminals will not separate from the printed circuit board easily. However, the locations of the locking openings formed on the upper and lower insulative housings are unchangeable, and the application of the upper and lower insulative housings is limited and the securing structure is more complicated.
Furthermore, the upper and lower insulative housings are of different structures and need to be manufactured using different molds. As a result, the production cost is high. In addition, since the upper and lower insulative housings are not identical, they cannot be replaced with each other, and more spare parts than actually needed may be stocked. Therefore, a need exists in the art for a stacked card connector which features a simpler securing structure and lower cost and can be secured to any location on the circuit board.